Bucket List: 15 Places to Visit in China, Visiting Half Meets the Standard, Those Who’ve Visited All Are True Masters!
Travel Essays: From Northern Scenery to Southern Water Towns,
From Snowy Mountains and Sacred Lakes to Ancient City Ruins,
These places connect our past and present
Introduction: When I gazed at the stars by Namtso Lake, I suddenly understood what “Heaven and Earth possess great beauty” means
In the early morning on the northern Tibetan Plateau, I wrapped my down jacket tightly around me and stood by the lake, looking up at the vast sky.
The Milky Way stretched across the sky like a glowing ribbon of sand, with the lake’s surface reflecting the starlight, as if two starry skies existed simultaneously.
The Tibetan elder beside me said softly: “Look, the stars are washing their hands in the lake.”
He pointed to the gently rippling waves of light: “Every star has its own reflection, just as everyone can find their own shadow here.”
In that moment, I understood: The most beautiful scenery isn’t in your camera, but in the moment when you converse with heaven and earth.
The 15 places I’m going to talk about today are not just photo opportunities, but places that can touch your soul.
1. Lijiang Ancient Town: “Slow Time Delivery” at the Foot of Snow Mountains
“The fastest thing in the ancient town isn’t express delivery, but cats basking in the sun.”
Avoiding the crowds at Sifang Street, I turned into the small alleys near Wenchang Palace.
An elderly Naxi grandmother sat on her doorstep embroidering, her silver bell-like laughter more moving than the music from the hand drum shops.
In the evening, watching the sunset from Wangu Tower, the flying eaves and brackets looked like birds spreading their wings in the golden light.
The innkeeper said: “Ten years ago I came here as a traveler, and ended up ‘staying’ here—now I help others send and receive postcards.”
He pointed to a wall covered with train tickets: “These were left by guests. Some are meant for forgetting, others for remembering.”
2. Gulangyu: A “Sound Map” on Piano Island
“Even the sea breeze here carries musical notes.”
When I got lost in Shuzhuang Garden, I suddenly heard Chopin’s nocturne—it turned out to be a piano student practicing in a lane.
The most sophisticated way to explore is to follow the sounds:
The century-old pipe organ at the Organ Museum sounds at 3 PM
The Nanyin performance at Haitian Tanggou, where the old artist’s fingers move like butterflies
Even the cicada chirps at Sunlight Rock have a unique rhythm
The guesthouse auntie brought peanut soup: “Zheng Chenggong trained his troops here back in the day, now we’re training our ears.”
3. Sanya Yalong Bay: The “glass crystal” at 18 degrees north latitude
“The sand here is finer than white sugar.”
The fishermen who went to the sea at dawn taught me to identify shells:
“The patterns on the shell are drawn by ocean waves, with each ring representing one year of age.”
The most wonderful part is when snorkeling—
Clownfish are dancing among the coral clusters
The diving instructor suddenly pointed to a patch of coral: “Look! The branches broken by last year’s typhoon have sprouted new shoots again.”
Indeed, the vitality of the seabed is more resilient than that of the land.
4. Mount Emei: The “Buddhist Kingdom Station” above the clouds
“The monkeys are not the mountain kings, they are.”
To watch the sunrise, I stayed at the Jinding Grand Hotel, only to be awakened by the sound of chanting from next door in the early morning.
It turned out a group of lay Buddhists were worshipping the Ten-directions Samantabhadra statue.
When the Buddha’s halo appeared, my shadow suddenly appeared on the sea of clouds, surrounded by a rainbow.
Encountering a group of monkeys while descending the mountain, an elderly staff member waved a bamboo pole:
“They specifically target people wearing red clothes—they think you’re giving out red envelopes!”
But he secretly handed me a handful of peanuts: “Feed the one with only one ear, it saved a stranded tourist last year.”
5. Qinghai Lake: The “Blue Love Letter” in the Rapeseed Fields
“When you come in July, you’ll wonder if God spilled two buckets of paint while mixing colors.”
While cycling around the lake, a Tibetan young man named Tashi offered me butter tea:
“My grandfather said there’s an ancient city at the bottom of the lake, and you can hear bells ringing every full moon.”
That night camping at Heimahe, I really heard faint sounds coming from the lake surface.
Zhaxi laughed loudly: “Actually, it’s just the call of a bar-headed goose! But you city folks love romantic imagination.”
But the next day, he quietly pointed out to me:
The prayer flags tied on the Sea-Worshipping Platform, each one carries someone’s wishes.
6. Daocheng Yading: The “Final Code” at the Foot of the Sacred Mountain
“At an altitude of 4,000 meters, even breathing needs to be learned.”
When the old lama at Chonggu Temple turned the prayer wheel, the copper bell startled a flock of vermilion birds.
He pointed to Mount Xiannairi: “Each peak has a name, like the fingers of a family.”
Meeting a backpacker who has been coming to Milk Sea for ten years:
“This is my seventh time here, and the blue I see each time is different.”
He has photos from previous years on his phone—the lake water is indeed becoming shallower as the glaciers melt.
“So you should see it sooner rather than later. Some scenery can’t wait for people.”
7. Wuzhen: The “Time Capsule” of Waterside Dwellings
“The bridges here can speak.”
Riding a sculling boat through Fengyuan Twin Bridges, the boatwoman began to sing a local folk tune:
“Crossing a bridge with the left hand brings promotion, with the right hand brings wealth—but now everyone is holding their phones with both hands!”
At night in Xizha, lanterns reflect on the water like flowing flames.
The teahouse owner demonstrates how to drink Sanbai liquor:
“Sweet on the tip of the tongue, spicy on the sides, with a sweet aftertaste in the throat—doesn’t it resemble the three flavors of life?”
8. Zhangjiajie: The “Natural IMAX” in the Stone Forest
“A filming location for ‘Avatar’? We call it the Southern Sky Pillar!”
Local guide Lao Tang takes us on a wilderness path:
“The Tianzi Mountain that tourist groups visit is for group photos, what I have here are private shots.”
While feeding macaques at the top of Huangshi Village, he suddenly pointed to the sea of clouds:
“Look! The clouds are putting a scarf on the mountains.”
The most stunning sight is when the sky clears after the rain—
Clouds and mist rise among the forest of peaks, truly as if the mountains are breathing.
9. Lugu Lake: The “Kingdom of Women” among the Water Poppy Flowers
“The pig-trough boats are not just boats, they are the mobile living rooms of the Mosuo people.”
Boatman Brother Ci’er sings while paddling:
“Stars fall into the lake and turn into water poppy flowers, blooming when the sun shines on them.”
At night, joining the bonfire party, the skirts of the Mosuo girls spin into rainbows.
Ci’er said: “Walking 999 steps on the Walking Marriage Bridge, actually what we Mosuo people value most is family reunion.”
He pointed to the hearth in the grandmother’s house: “This fire hasn’t been extinguished for a hundred years, longer than any vow.”
10. Huangguoshu Waterfall: The ‘Rainbow Factory’ behind the Water Curtain Cave
“Before seeing the waterfall, you first hear the heartbeat of the Earth.”
While passing through the Water Curtain Cave, a Miao aunt handed me a raincoat:
“Sun Wukong hid from Princess Iron Fan here, and now you’re hiding from your wife checking up on you?”
The rainbow appeared at 3:20 PM and lasted for a full seven minutes.
Photographer Lao Zhi set up his tripod:
“After waiting for eight years, I’ve discovered that rainbows actually have seven and a half colors—the last half color is the light in the water vapor.”
11. Hulunbuir Grassland: When the wind blows the grass low, you can see the “buffet”
“Here, the roads yield to cattle and sheep.”
In the yurt, Grandma Qiqige is making milk tea:
“We Mongolians don’t look at the sun to find directions, we look at the grass—the tips point south and the roots point north.”
Bater, who herds sheep on horseback, laughs loudly:
“That Windows desktop picture you took? That’s my family’s summer pasture!”
Lying on a haystack at night watching the Milky Way, the shooting stars pass by at least three times slower than in the city.
12. Xiamen Huandao Road: The “Blue Running Track” Beside the Palm Trees
“The roundest thing on Huandao Road isn’t the sun, it’s the bicycle wheels.”
Rent a bike and ride from Baicheng to the Convention and Exhibition Center, the sea breeze is as salty as sprinkled salt grains.
Met an old man writing ground calligraphy at Calligraphy Square:
“I write poems with water, and the tides come to submit them.”
The sunrise at Huangcuo Beach appears promptly at 5:30—
The sun rises from the direction of Kinmen, its rosy light dyeing the entire coastline red.
The coffee shop guy said: “This is the place with the highest success rate for proposals, because the ocean is responsible for saying ‘I do.'”
13. Hemu Village: The ‘Autumn Safe’ in Fairy Tale Wooden Houses
“The early morning cooking smoke is an alarm clock, waking up the entire valley.”
Staying in a small wooden house of the Tuvan people, the host Bieke brings Baersak:
“In winter, it’s minus forty degrees. Burning pine wood in the room smells better than heating.”
On the way to Beautiful Peak on horseback, golden leaves fall from the birch forest.
Bieke suddenly starts singing a folk song:
“Trees grow one ring each year, and we collect one story each year.”
14. Pingyao Ancient City: The “Silver Code” in the Piaohao
“The ancient city wall is not just a wall, but an accountant’s abacus.”
In the underground vault of the Rishengchang Piaohao, a tour guide shines a flashlight on the floor tiles:
“Beneath lie the silver weights used for exchange back then, now worth half of Pingyao.”
The county office holds court session performances daily, the county magistrate slams the gavel:
“Honorable tourist visitors, would you give this official a thumbs-up?”
The most spectacular is the sunset over the city wall—
The crenels frame the sun like an old copper coin, with clouds becoming tassels.
15. Qiandao Lake: The ‘Green Jigsaw’ of 1078 Islands
“The smallest island here is a sunken ship, while the largest is a maze.”
While riding along the lakeside greenway, a fisherman cast his net:
“The fish in our Qiandao Lake drink mineral water and eat pine pollen.”
Climbing Meifeng Observation Deck to view the archipelago, the guide suddenly pointed to a spot:
“Look! Those islands form the shape of China’s map – even Taiwan Island is there.”
As the sun set, fishing boats returned home, creating golden lines that outlined the ‘chicken belly’ of the map.
Epilogue: The scenery is always changing, but the surprises are always fresh
The photographer I met in Hemu Village said:
“Twenty years ago when I came, the villagers traded a piece of candy for one of my photos; now they trade their WiFi password for my photo editing.”
But some things have never changed—
The streams in Lijiang Ancient Town still clean the streets
The piano on Gulangyu Island still plays on time at dusk
The shepherd dogs in Hulunbuir still chase motorcycles
Real travel,
is not about collecting check-in photos,
But one day you suddenly remember:
the Tibetan father who taught you to recognize stars by Qinghai Lake,
the cooking smoke at dawn in Hemu Village,
or the taste of fish head soup from Thousand Island Lake—
these fragments will automatically piece together into the most beautiful scenery in your memory.
If reprinted, please indicate the source:https://www.nhtour.com/travel-blogs/bucket-list-15-places-to-visit-in-china-visiting-half-meets-the-standard-those-whove-visited-all-are-true-masters/
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